PPACA plans could squeeze hospitals

If the public exchanges succeed, they could force noprofit hospitals to cut their rates, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service.

Many of the carriers selling individual and small-group coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exchange system have tried to keep premiums low by using narrow provider networks.

The narrow qualified health plan networks are affecting off-exchange networks, because some carries are selling similar plans on both markets.

The analysts say hospitals will try to make up for some of the lost revenue by bargaining for deals that provide rewards for successful efforts to control costs.

PPACA could help hospitals by reducing the number of uninsured patients, but PPACA could offset that by increasing the number of patients who have high deductibles and are unable to pay the bills they run up before they meet the deductibles, the analysts say.